Welcome to the Citizen's R.E.F.O.R.M. Agenda. From now until April 4th, we, the people of Philadelphia, are collectively writing the R.E.F.O.R.M. Agenda — a series of action items to establish a transparent, accountable, and accessible government that works efficiently for all citizens, not just a few.
What should I do?
1. Sign the R.E.F.O.R.M. Compact.
2. Add a new action item or edit existing items until you are satisfied with the R.E.F.O.R.M. Agenda. 
3. Vote for the most important action items of the R.E.F.O.R.M. Agenda when the editing period is completed.
4. Review the candidates’ responses when they are provided to determine who is a reformer.
5. Turn out and Vote R.E.F.O.R.M. on May 15th.
Restore Credibility
- The City will establish a system of public finance for municipal campaigns to eliminate the corrosive role of money in local politics.
- The City will establish anti-nepotism laws to discourage familial favoritism from influencing government hiring, policy or operations.
- The City will establish a policy concerning outside employment for elected officials. If being an elected official in Philadelphia is a full-time responsibility, then those elected should not perform outside employment during their full time working hours. Those seeking additional employment or those who are already engaged in another job must provide evidence that the job is not a conflict of interest in the performance of their duties. An independent committee will be established to review each written request, make a timely decision, and allow an appeals process. The citizens of Philadelphia will be informed of the requests and the results.
- The City will amend the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to limit the terms of City Councilpersons to no more than three consecutive terms.
- The City will study and report on campaign financing reform in other municipalities and take steps to eliminate the corrosive role of money in local politics.
- The City will establish enforced rules concerning elected city officials serving as party officials, e.g., ward leaders. The City will recognize that incumbency has a value and that a force multiplier such as this reinforces the structural competitive disadvantage often faced when seeking elected office.
- The City will amend the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter so that elections are administered by an independent and non-partisan Board of Elections constituted according to nationwide best practices instead of Philadelphia City Commissioners whose members serve as both party officials and elected city officials. The non partisan board will be throughly investigated to determine their fairness, expertise, complaints, and outcome of prior elections.
- The City will establish a non-partisan Redistricting Commission after the next Census to oversee the redistricting process rather than allowing City Council to determine council districts.
- Public Safety is essential to the City's social and economic well-being. The City will study "best practicies" of other major cities regarding successful strategies and action-steps for policing their communities, and adopt those that will most benefit Philadelphia. As first steps in this direction, the City will examine the structure, culture and leadership capacity of the Philadelphia Police Department(PPD), conduct a nationwide search for a new police commissioner, and implement systemwide changes necessary to make the new commissioner's efforts effective in modernizing and professionalizing the Police Department. Of critical importance to those steps, a City Charter change will be put forward that will allow the Police Commisisoner to be able to select the appropriate number of subordinates commanders (at the rank of Captain and higher) from inside or outside the department essential to implement and sustain the systemwide improvements. To ensure public accountablility within the Police Department, the city will appropriately staff and empower the Integrity and Accountability Office of the Philadelphia Police Department. The City understands that civilian and community oversight of the Philadelphia Police Department is important to its overall accountability and performance.
- The City will appoint public finance professionals based solely on professional competence, expertise and value to the City.
- Four suggestions for improving and increasing voting democracy: 1) Election day should be a holiday. It is pertinent to the quality of life and freedoms of all citizens. 2) Same day registration (successfully done for about 30 years in some states) increasing voter turnout. 3) Register 16 year olds; in some states they can marry and obtain a driver's license and have definite interests impacted by public policy; this builds a habit of voting and balances a large over-50 voting bloc. 4) Instant runoff to eliminate spoilers and enhance the ability to have more choices for citizens, encouraging diversity in candidates.
- Change the City Charter to eliminate the ROW Offices they could easily be incorporated into existing city departments and the courts.
- It is essential that Philadelphia voters have confidence that our elected officials are acting solely in the interest of the puiblic. In order to have good government, it is necessary for elected officials to be free from conflicts of interest. The only way to ensure that elected officials are free from the influence of private campaign contributions is to have election campaigns paid for by the voters through full public funding. Therefore, the City must adopt this method of funding elections, called "Clean Elections", which is proven to work well and is already in use in a number of other states and municipalities. The cost to the taxpayer of Clean Elections will be more than paid for by the elimination of taxpayer dollars being spent for special favors to reward campaign contributors. This reform will do more to promote good government in Philadelphia than any other single change that could be made.
- The City will equip all of its polling places to produce a voter verified paper record. This is absolutely necessary to ensure that the votes are counted accurately.
- The City will develop a presentation and suggest that an independent study of alternative voting such as proportional representation, request and report on the recommendations of the independent body. This will give individuals a clear view of the constituencies of minority party candidates, and grant civil rights to those whose voices deserve to be represented within any democratic empowered municipal government.
Engage and Enable Neighborhoods
- The City will establish a 311 system (“One Call for City Hall”) for receiving and tracking citizen complaints. Interactions with the 311 system will be made public (published on the Internet and through other convenient media for public review) so the citizenry can review how its interactions are addressed and how the City enforces reported violations of law and code. The City should explore ways to use interactive technology to allow the citizenry to continuously report on conditions in Philadelphia neighborhoods. Any confidential information such as names, phone numbers, etc.,will not be made public.
- The City will make public (published on the Internet and through other convenient media for public review) neighborhood-based agency performance data, school-based performance data, and park and recreation-based performance data so that the citizenry can be informed about the results of the work of its government and so we can create ways to reward performance to encourage high achievement by the City’s workforce and management. This performance data should articulate objective benchmark standards for City agency and school performance so the citizenry can judge the performance of its government against stated goals; and the public should be able to provide feedback on the quality of services, which will be made public.
- The City and School District will review all service district boundaries — from boundaries for sanitation districts to school catchment areas — and make this information public (published on the Internet and through other convenient media for public review) so citizens can understand how government operates on the neighborhood level. The City should consider moving toward service districts with common boundaries and determine the best method the government will interact with Philadelphia neighborhoods.
- The City will establish a real time truancy tracking system under the Secretary of Education that will enable a rapid response by The School District, other city agencies, parent groups and neighborhood organizations to the blight of truancy which leads to disrupted classrooms, a poorly educated workforce, and higher neighborhood crime rates. All crimes against the person or property of school district employees committed by students shall be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Those being tried for felony offenses against school district employees shall be tried as adults. All school district employees, students, parents and the general public will be advised of the rules and of the law. All employees will receive training and be given written instructions upon completion of the training. Staff will have input into the procedures. Any school official who receives notification of an attack on a school teacher and fails to take action or applies intimidation tactics to discourage the written report by the teacher, will be fired.
- The City will financially incentivize our corporate citizenry to create real and meaningful mentorship programs in association with the Secretary of Education, The School District, DHS, AmeriCorps, and community organizations. These mentorship programs shall prepare students for the types of jobs needed to be filled upon graduation and serve as a vehicle for personal growth.
- The City will increase opportunities for homeowners and developers to become more energy efficient and environmentally compliant according to national best practices. The city will clean and green all vacant lots owned by the City in preparation for sale or lease.
- The City will reestablish legal standing for civic groups and neighborhood associations, by charter change if necessary, to challenge the decisions of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and corporate violators of our zoning code. All reports of violations shall be promptly investigated by the agency having jurisdiction over such activities and suspected violators shall be promptly prosecuted.
- The City will encourage local employment by eliminating the gross receipts tax, the business privelage tax and accelerate the reduction of the wage tax by 50% over the next 5 years. This will promote new business development, retention of current employers.
- The City will increase the use of community service hours in the criminal justice system and dedicate Community Service Programs to the clean up and maintenance of neighborhood streets and vacant lots.
- The City will develop and implement effective cross-system strategies to support students and schools including strengthening and improving the coordination between various truancy programs and developing in-school interventions for youth who present early evidence of being at risk of dropping out.
- The City will expand education, training and employment opportunities for out-of-school and other at-risk youth by increasing access to neighborhood-based programs and services that prepare them for productive employment and active citizenship.
- The City will increase the availability of workplace experiences for students in neighborhoods throughout the City by hiring summer and year-round interns, funding internships in community-based organizations and challenging private employers to bring more young people into their workplaces for high-quality learning experiences.
- The City shall exercise responsibility and control over local schools by establishing a democratically elected School Board consisting partly of democratically elected representatives from the Home and School Associations. Additionally, the City shall take such steps to ensure increased and sustainable tax based funding for the school system recognizing that an investment in our students is an investment in the future of the city. Furthermore,anyone so serving on the Board, must reside at all times within the City and, if the parent or guardian of a school age child, shall be required to enroll her or his child in the public school system.
- The City shall fulfill the mission of Managing Director's Office "Global Philadelphia" initiative with an understanding that a diverse Philadelphia is a strong Philadelphia. The city must strengthen relationships with diverse linguistic communities throughout city departments to ensure access to Philadelphia city services and information by all citizens regardless of English proficiency. To ensure such access, English shall be the official language of City government and all documents shall be written in English at a level of common comprehension.
Fight for Fiscal Responsibility
- The City budget process will start with a public priority-setting process to use meaningful public input to establish governmental priorities. The estimate used to define the revenue that will determine how much we will spend in the City budget will be established as a consensus forecast based on expert advice and input from all elected officials and the public.
- The City budget will be prepared in a way to show costs by programmatic area to best illustrate the true cost of City spending. It should be accompanied by documents listing the goals that programmatic spending strives to achieve. All new legislation and new City programs will be accompanied by fiscal-impact statements to show the value added in terms of the results that new spending will create so the citizenry can judge whether new programs achieve their goals in future years. The City will also establish policies governing granting of public money to private firms to make those firms responsible for achieving goals related to the receipt of funds or repaying the public assistance.
- The City will establish a Rainy-Day Fund capitalized by any budget surplus. The Philadelphia Home Rule charter will codify the City's need to save when revenues come in higher than anticipated and to cushion against unexpected shortfalls in the future. No longer shall any budget surplus be used as a carrot by any Mayoral administration.
- The City will seek a just and fair solution for PGW by calling for an emergency energy summit attended by high level representatives from the Public Utilities Commission, the City, PGW, the State legislature, our federal Congressional Delegation, as well as the Governor. All parties will work towards: Greater federal LIHEAP assistance so that no low-income families go without heat in the winter; Professional management of the utility and removal of all unqualified management level patronage jobs; Debt forgiveness in exchange for infrastructure investment in remote in-house quick valve gas shutoff technology so that streets no longer need to be dug up in order to shut off a single home's gas; An increase the income requirement needed to avoid a gas shut-off; The City will allow PGW to use any remaining money originally earmarked to pay down a $45 million dollar loan to enter into the energy trading market; The State shall authorize the City to sell gas within the entire 5 County Philadelphia region so as to enable it to enhance its revenue with higher income customers.
- The city will eliminate the 10-year tax abatement in favor of a job-stimlulation package inviting new and existing employers to launch and/or expand their businesses. New companies will be have no business taxes and the wage tax will be reduced by 50%. Existing employers will receive a 50% reduction in business taxes.
- The City will pay $460 million dollars into pensions and employee health insurance in FY 2009 or 22% of the total City budget. According to The Philadelphia Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, this is more than the cost of any City department with the exception of police and DHS. The City must offer current employees and make mandatory for new employees a defined contribution plan. This would eliminate unfunded liabilities for all new hires participating in a defined contribution plan since the city's contribution is defined and it will no longer be held responsible for guaranteed benefit levels. The City must also ask for additional union concessions for employees choosing not to enroll in a defined contribution plan by contributing 2-5% of their salaries into the pension fund. The review of the opportunity to eliminate or reduce the pension program by instituting a plan where employees can be responsible for their own contribution to a choice of programs offered by competing representatives.
- The City will identify revenue streams based on the sale or lease of city owned properties and/or resources that are longer necessary to the functions of government. The city will sell the airport and a stabilized PGW, using the proceeds to pay down city debt, reduce taxes and fight crime.
- The City will spend $80 million more this year than last insuring City employees. To reduce the cost of health care insurance for City employees and City residents, the City will leverage the population of the entire city, surrounding municipalities, including the Southern New Jersey suburbs into a virtual corporation. The approximately 8 million person strong corporation will purchase health insurance at a deeply reduced group rate.
Open Government to the People
- The City will make public (published on the Internet and through other convenient media for public review) a manual for citizens, business owners, and school children/parents to explain how to interact with government for activities such as: putting out trash; securing a business privelege license; applying for school transfers; and obtaining permits for park and recreation purposes (e.g. picnics, ball fields, etc.). These manuals should be translated into non-English languages.
- The City will make public (published on the Internet and through other convenient media for public review), in a timely manner, agency regulations, Executive Orders, proposed bills and City Solicitor opinions so these important documents can receive public scrutiny and comment.
- The City will competitively bid all contracts (except for sole-source contracts and emergency contracts) to help eliminate "Pay-to-Play" in Philadelphia. All non-competitively bid contracts must receive exemption approval from the Philadelphia Board of Ethics. Professional service contracts associated with debt financings should be competitively bid unless the Treasurer and City Controller certify to City Council and the Board of Ethics that a specific negotiated professional service agreement with a specific provider is in the best financial interest of the City due to a specified complexity, novelty or timing constraint involved in a proposed financing.
- The City will require that any nonprofit that receives direct or indirect funding from the City to disclose publicly an accounting of its expenditures for the previous fiscal year and a budget projecting expenditures for the current fiscal year. The City cannot provide grants to non-profits unless there was a competitive, open, publicized bidding process for those grants. All such grants must be awarded using objective standards and a Board comprised of non-profit leaders that have never received grants from the City.
- The City will create, vis a vis the Office of the Managing Director, a customer service commission that will survey residents who have sought help from city agencies. A baseline poll will determine current levels of customer satisfaction. If 5% increases in customer satisfaction are not met in two out of four quarters of any given year (for a minimum increase of 10 percentage points per year) until a 90% satisfaction rating is achieved, management and staff will be fined, demoted, or fired.
- The City will work with private foundations and non-profit organizations to ensure that a Philadelphia print newspaper of record will always be published daily and available to the voters of Philadelphia regardless of profit margins. The City will publish important public notices in free newspapers or community newspapers to ensure all residents have access to public information, not just the well-to-do.
- The city will establish or update its open records law, such that the actions, meetings and records of all city governmental entities, boards and commissions, whether appointed or elected, are open to the public, and that complete access to all records, financial and otherwise, are provided to the public.
Respect Citizen Input
- City Council public hearings will be structured so that the public can truly participate. For issues of significant public concern, Council hearings should be located in the community, in locations accessible by public transportation, conducted after working hours, and/or organized to permit remote communication for citizens.
- The City will make public (published on the Internet and through other convenient media for public review) any and all vacancies in government agencies, boards, and commissions to facilitate filling vacant positions so these entities can accomplish their missions. The City should publish all open positions and qualifications for those positions so that members of the public can submit their names for open positions and City officials have a pool of qualified applicants and no excuses for not filling positions.
- The City will draw lines for Council districts that reflect geographically meaningful boundaries and avoid gerrymandering in the 2010 Council redistricting. In doing so, the City shall empower an independent redistricting commission composed of citizens, demographers and statisticians that will report directly to the Philadelphia Board of Ethics.
- All elected city officials shall host at least 5 hours of direct office hours per week for consultation with the public. Office hours will be held at City Hall, City Recreational Centers, and/or in virtual space via webcam and chat interface.
- The City will make public (published on the Internet and through other convenient media for public review) any and all City and City Council documents in a timely fashion as determined by the voters of Philadelphia and in accordance to nationwide best practices with an exemption for documents critical to the safety and security of the citizenry of Philadelphia and as determined to be so by The Philadelphia Board of Ethics. Bills on final passage must be publicized at least one week prior to that final Council vote. If Council does not vote when publicized, then the bills must be sent back to committee. This will eliminate public uncertainty about the future of legislation and ensure that time taken off work to attend Council votes is meaningful.
- The Home Rule Charter will be changed to require that all proposed legislation affecting a specific district must first be presented at a public meeting within that district, with the district Councilperson and at least one at-large Councilperson present to explain and defend the bills. The meeting must be publicized in all free and community-based newspapers within that district. Exceptions will be made for health and national security emergencies only. This will bring legislation from smoke-filled backrooms into the light of day.
- The Home Rule Charter must be changed so that the City Planning Commission is required (a) to hold public hearings on all matters that come before it; (b) to hold a public meeting within any community to be affected by a matter which it reviews; (c) to have its staff solicit input from the general public prior to issuing a staff recommendation; (d) to require that all decisions of the Commission contain a statement of impact on housing for the low-income, and whether a proposed development or zoning change is likely to cause gentrification, displacement or neighborhood tensions.
- The Zoning Board of Adjustment's (ZBA's) published "Regulations" must be changed to require that the ZBA provides a brief statement describing the reasons for its decision - when issuing each decision. That statement must cite legal precedent and indicate the likely impact of its decision on housing for the low-income and whether a proposed development is likely to cause gentrification, displacement or neighborhood tensions. It must also disclose which, if any, government officials, applicants or other parties communicated with any Board member or ZBA staff concerning the decision being issued.
Modernize City Services
- The City will complete and adopt a new comprehensive plan to direct physical development and prioritize public investments. The plan should explain how we will rightsize our city, how we best maintain our collection of physical assets into the future, and how we foster sustainability in transportation, development, environmental, park and recreation, and housing policies. The City Planning Commission should be used to establish visions for future growth and development.
- The City will complete and adopt revised zoning and building codes that reflect modern best practices while respecting community involvement. While continuing to provide an opportunity for neighborhood associations to give input into local projects, the city will ensure that board members do not have a conflict of interest while serving on such boards.
- The City will permit residents and employers to accomplish all City transactions — from bill paying, to record filing, to permitting, to tracking information for City vendors — via Internet where technologically possible.
- Until comprehensive zoning reform occurs (a process which might take 10 years to complete), the City will enact emergency measures to increase transparency, accountability and community involvement: (a)The Zoning Board (ZBA) will become an elected Board. Each Board member shall serve a term-limited one-year term to limit influence peddling; (b) A ZBA legal fund for communities fighting developers will be created. ZBA-funded attorneys will be available for any community member wishing to fight a zoning application; (c) Prohibit Licenses & Inspections from granting building permits in cases where ZBA regulations were violated by the ZBA or applicant (including any cases where a hearing is held in violation of the 12-day posting requirement); (d) Remove ZBA deference to the opinions of government officials, thereby reducing opportunities for trading favors; (e) Add advocates for unrepresented litigants in Common Pleas Court and require, by new court rules, that most procedural errors unrepresented litigants commit be overlooked the first time they occur. This will allow most zoning appeals to be decided on their merits, not the technicalities that are exploited by large developers.
- The City will extend and modernize city transit services, including schedules, routes, token/pass outlets, and cleanliness. Extending the subway south into the Navy Yard and into the NE along the Blvd. will be investigated.Light rail services will be extended to the riverfront and connected with the subway surface trolley system. Light rail service will also be developed on Germantown Ave. along the lines of the Girard Ave. light rail line. Trackless trolleys will be restored to South Philadelphia as well as to the Northeast. SEPTA will integrate its regional rail lines into the transit system by inaugurating frequent service on these lines and simplifying the arcane payment system. The city will work with SEPTA to add a stop at 22nd Street on the Market-Frankford subway line.
- The City will leverage its cultural and economic position with its surrounding counties and Southern New Jersey suburbs to enact a regional transit tax with proceeds paying for public transit revitalization and expansion throughout Greater Philadelphia.
- The City will develop a green plan and bicycle transportation network.
- In recognition that a modern city needs be an environmentally healthy city, a postion of "Secretary of Environment" shall be established in the Mayor's cabinet, the duties of which shall include ensuring cooperation between city departments, the city law department and office of information, in matters relating to the health of our ecoysystem (air, land, water) and who shall serve as a liaison with federal agencies such as the US EPA and the Pennsylvania DEP to ensure that existing problems are expeditiously resolved and that development proceeds in an environmentally sound and sustainable fashion.
